Comments by "whya2ndaccount" (@whya2ndaccount) on "MP 40 - Role \u0026 \"Tactics\"" video.

Seems odd to only have one MP 38/40 per vehicle (apart from the Stugs). I guess the other crewmen on a given vehicle had only a pistol as a personal weapon, since rifles are too long / unwieldy are unsuited for use by a vehicle crew?
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@88porpoise I know I am one. But you still need to get out /off to go on a recce, attend orders groups, do track work / maintenance, go to the loo and various other tasks. Having one SMG to "share" isn't ideal.
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@88porpoise Well space is a reason why they don't have K-98s certainly. I'm just pretty sure I"ve seen vehicle diagrams with mounting brackets at each crew station for a weapon - but I could be wrong.
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@demonprinces17 That's probably the one time you don't need a SMG. The Crew Commander has grenades for close in work and the Gunner with the main gun and coax MG for longer range targets. The SMG / side arm is used for when you dismount the vehicle and leave it (say for a recce or to go to orders) or if you need to work nearby (working on the tank or engine, camouflaging the vehicle, building the range card, etc.). In all those cases having something better than a pistol is a good idea. ;)
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@simonh6371 I'm not talking about recce done by a dedicated recce unit, but the recce done by the tank crew. (e.g. the tank is about to occupy a defensive position, apart from just driving in, the tactically sound option is to stop short, one person recces it by foot, and then the vehicle comes forward - "what is over that ridge?" or "can this bridge take the weight?" type stuff). Yes I've gone to the loo inside the tank but I can assure you morale is higher if you can do it outside (especially now that you don't have large brass "chamber pots" anymore with combustible cartridges) and "in range of the enemy" is a pretty vague term so you usually assume the enemy is around when you dismount. Books like "Tigers in the Mud" (yes I know its a memoir) speaks often of the need for the crew commander and other crewman to spend significant periods away from the tank "in range of the enemy" and it certainly remains true today, where every AFV crewman has a carbine/SMG type weapon and a pistol (but that's not central to the MP 38 / MP 40 scenario).
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